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According to the FBI, the so-called "authenticator of choice" was a Brooklyn, New York licensed forensic expert named Donald Frangipani. All told, said the feds, Frangipani issused COAs for thousands of pieces sent to him by Eddie's ring. We decided to see for ourselves, so Real Sports sent Frangipani, who was never charged with any involvement in the forgery ring, seven items we knew were absolutely bogus. In short order we had seven COAs from Frangipani certifying our fakes as real. At that point, I put on my Mike Wallace hat and went out to Brooklyn to question Mr. Frangipani. One after another I showed him his certificates: "Ted Williams...Mickey Mantle...Brett Favre"...informing him that every single item we sent him was bogus. Frangipani took about three steps back before saying he'd been fooled by the forgeries, to which I countered, okay, fool me once, fool me twice, but a thousand times? You were sent thousands of rare items by the Marino group, I said, and your curiosity never got the best of you? You never wondered how they got their hands on dozens of rare Ruth cut signatures? Or box after box of Mantle hats or balls?  Is it real or is it fake? Only the forgers know for sure. "Oh, I asked myself that question," said Frangipani. "Well, yourself," I replied. "But are you asking anybody else?" The answer, sadly, was no. Sad for you. And sad for guys like Scott Stimell, owner of a mom and pop memorabilia shop on Long Island, New York called Cardboard Memories. Among a treasure trove of material, I spoke with Scott about the explosion in online fraud and how forgers peddle their wares for a fraction of what the real thing costs. "[People] are not really going to be able to buy a real Mickey Mantle autograph hat for two or three hundred dollars," he said. "But there are a lot of people out there that are not astute in this hobby, that don't know, that are thinking they're getting a great price and a great deal, and everybody loves a great deal." So much so, it appears, stores like Stimell's are being crushed by the online auction explosion. In 1997, about 4,700 "mom and pop" memorabilia stores were in this country, according to industry estimates. Today that number is 1,200 and falling. "It's had a tremendous impact, and I find that very disturbing," said Scott. "A lot of people assume because it's eBay, and that they're the biggest, they're going to do their best to bring a proper product to the consumer. The bottom line is they're not protecting anybody. They're saying buy at your own risk - good luck." For its part, eBay disputes that notion. They point out they offer buyer insurance up to $1,000 for items purchased through PayPal. In addition, they stress they've teamed up with an authentication service which, for about $8, will offer a "quick opinion" - telling a bidder if the item is likely genuine or likely not. One big problem is when its authentication partner, PSA/DNA, finds an item "likely not genuine" eBay fails to put any kind of icon next to that item as a warning. Instead, it just takes another eight bucks, then another, then another, from one curious customer after another. So what are you to do? Bottom line: My advice is eBay and other major sites are like the Wild Wild West. It's virtually anything goes, so take extra care and scrutinize the origin of the item and the COA that accompanies it. How many similar items does the seller have online? Is there a legible name on the COA? An address? A phone number? And don't feel shy about inquiring about the history of the piece. Is there any photographic documentation as to the signing? What's the so-called "chain of custody?" The best possible advice I can give is, whenever possible, deal with reputable companies like - and, trust me, this is not a paid pronouncement - Upper Deck Authentic, Mounted Memories or Steiner Sports out of New York City. They have exclusive deals with top-line athletes or teams, so while you'll definitely pay more, sometimes 10 times more, at least you'll be getting the real thing. And, oh yeah: If it sounds too good to be true...it probably is. Eight-time Emmy Award winning Armen Keteyian is the Chief Investigative Correspondent for CBS News in New York and executive editor of Hall of Fame Magazine. You can contact him at
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